Pakistan favours India's candidacy for UNSC seat as non-permanent member - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

In a major boost to India's bid to secure a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Pakistan along with other nations from the Asia region has endorsed its candidature. India is currently running unopposed after the withdrawal of the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan from the fray. The UNSC presently has 15 members, including five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members, of which two are from Asia. Each member of the council has a vote, while only the five permanent members can veto a resolution. According to an official statement from India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, 19 countries, including Pakistan, "spoke in favour of the proposal to endorse New Delhi's candidature for the two-year term in the Security Council, starting from January 1, 2011," The News reported on Feb.22. It is believed that if India manages to secure the seat in the UNSC, it will be the first time in 19 years that it will occupy a seat in the council. However, even if India goes to the election without an opponent, it will still require to secure two-thirds of the votes of the 192 member countries of the United Nations General Assembly that comprise the electoral college, the report further stated.